Akshay Kumar walks the talk

Akshay Kumar would have been a stunt man if not an actor is something that he has stated time and again. And he has indeed walked that talk as is amply evident in the current season of Khatron Ke Khiladi. At a press interaction with the actor, Akshay performed some dare devil stunts which had almost everyone holding their breath as he very effortlessly went about his business. Arguably one of the best action heroes of the industry Akshay makes the perfect choice as host of the stunt reality show, Khatron Ke Khiladi. Tellychakkar caught up with the actor on his experiences with the show. Did you miss being on the show’s last season? No, the whole thing was designed for a female host. How was the experience this season? Well the experience was great. Actually you should ask the contestants this question because I was very strict. I have taken good care of them and have also been very rough at the same time. I am sure they have had a very torturous experience with me. Since I have to be true to my show, I have to be true to the fact that my contestants overcome fear. That is what I went for. Now I am so glad that I brought them in one piece. They have got bruises, there was whole lot blood, tears and everything but they are fine. In fact they have changed a lot from what they were. How different are this season’s contestants compared to the last season? Well the point is not about getting great contestants who are completely trained. The challenge is about getting weak contestants and bringing them to a level where they can achieve things. So this was the best for me. And as I said it has never been about getting big athletes, swimmers, etc for there is no fun that way. It is about getting the fear out of them. The contestants who came on the show did not come with strength. They weren’t mentally prepared for this but I had to pump a lot of strength in them. For that’s what the show is all about. There is a boy Pramod (Dahiya) who was the weakest contestant I had and I had to pump lot of strength in him. There is this girl Mauli (Dave) who was scared of water and she couldn’t put her face inside but they are different people now. Who has been the motivational factor in your life? My father was my biggest motivation in life. Why is the show always shot in South Africa? Because Fear Factor itself is based in South Africa and Brazil. Re-erecting everything here would mean a lot of investment hence these places are better from the financial prospective too. Don’t you have any fears? I do have fear but it’s a good fear. Do you have any phobias? Honestly I did not ever let any phobia develop. I remember I was shooting for my first film and my producer wanted me to learn horse ridding for it. So while I was learning horse riding the horse threw me off his back. It was Jeetu Varma who was teaching me and he told me, “Get up right now otherwise believe me for the rest of your life you will never ever be able to ride a horse.” Hence I got on the horse once again and the horse made sure that he dropped me but I climbed again. Well the whole idea of saying this is if you give up without trying again then a phobia develops. Isn’t fear more internal than external? The whole idea is to train the contestants mentally. Believe me all of us can do stunts. As for the contestants I see not just how strong they are physically but also how strong they are mentally.